Folding rocking chair with folding seat support

ABSTRACT

A FOLDING ROCKING CHAIN OF WOOD HAS THE FRONT LEGS PARTIALLY SUPPORTED BY EARING AGAINST AN EXTENSION OF THE REAR LEGS AND HAS A PAIR OF FOLDABLE, ANGLED, METAL BRACES PIVOTALLY SUPPORTED ON A FRONT LEG RUNG WITH THE FORWARD ENDS OF THE BRACES PIVOTALLY TECEIVED AND HIDDEN, IN SLOTS IN THE SEAT FRAME ELEMENT, A ROUND, BEADED SEAT EDGE THUS APPEARS TO BE CANTILEVERED AND FREE OF UNGAINLY BRACING WHILE ACTUALLY FIRMLY SUPPORTED. THE SEAT EDGE IS RECEIVED IN THE ANGLE OF THE METAL BRACES WHEN FOLDED. L SHAPED METAL SEAT HINGES ARE SIMILARY RECEIVED AND HIDDEN IN SLOTS IN BACK FRAME ELEMENTS.   D R A W I N G

c. H. HOLT 3,

FOLDING ROCKING CHAIR WITH FOLDING SEAT SUPPORT June 20, 1972 Filed July 31, 1969 ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofim Patented June 20, 1972 3,671,072 FOLDING ROCKING CHAIR WITH FOLDING SEAT SUPPORT Chester H. Holt, 14 Murdock Ave., Winchendon, Mass. 01475 Filed July 31, 1969, Ser. No. 846,467 Int. Cl. A47c 3/029 US. Cl. 297-32 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A folding rocking chain of wood has the front legs partially supported by bearing against an extension of the rear legs and has a pair of foldable, angled, metal braces pivotally supported on a front leg rung with the forward ends of the braces pivotally received and hidden, in slots in the seat frame elements. A round, beaded seat edge thus appears to be cantilevered and free of ungainly bracing while actually firmly supported. The seat edge is received in the angle of the metal braces when folded. L shaped metal seat hinges are similarly received and hidden in slots in back frame elements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A considerable amount of effort has been expended in an attempt to construct a foldable rocking chair which is easily folded, easily carried, and which also provides enough strength and such pleasant rocking characteristics that it will be acceptable for general use. One of the most suitable general designs of a foldable rocking chair is that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,083,051 to Milbourne wherein the back of the chair is folded directly over the seat, and wherein each of the front legs of the chair bears against an end of a rear leg when the chair is erected for use. The erection of such a chair is readily accomplished by grasping the top of the back of the chair and lifting it until the rear legs contact the underside of the front legs. This chair is easily carried with little or no danger of accidental opening. However, the strength of such chairs known to the prior art leaves much to be desired in that they often fail to adequately distribute the weight, or force, of a person sitting on the chair. This has the dual disadvantage of 1) exposing various parts of the chair to excess strains under certain conditions of use, and (2) detracting from a smooth rocking action of the chair.

In the above-mentioned Milbourne chair, the seat rests on a cross brace and the cross brace extends between the front legs, the latter necessarily being close to the hinge pivot support between back and seat to permit compact folding. While the fold is compact, about two-thirds of the seat is cantilevered and free of support, thus being inherently somewhat likely to break during use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved folding rocking chair.

It is another object of the invention to provide a folding rocking chair having improved brace means to support the seat member thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a. folding rocking chair, the precise design and proportions of which may be modified without weakening the effective nature of the bracing thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair of the type described having improved hinge means.

Other objects of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art on reading the instant specification.

The above objects have been substantially accomplished by modifying a folding rocking chair of the kind which comprises a back and a seat, pivotally connected whereby the back is foldable over the seat; a pair of arcuate rocking members; a pair of front legs pivotally connected at the topmost ends thereof to opposite sides of the back and pivotally attached at the bottommost ends thereof to the rocker members; the front legs having a horizontal cross brace, or rung, connecting them; a pair of rear legs also pivoted near the top thereof to opposite sides of said back at points on said back between where the seat attaches to said back and where the seat attaches to said front legs, each of said front legs lying in a same plane as each said rear leg, so that butt ends, or extensions, of the rear legs tend to support the front legs when the chair is unfolded.

The primary modification is the provision of pivotally attaching this metal angled brace to the horizontal cross rung between said front legs and pivotally attaching of the opposite end of these metal braces in elongated slots in to the side frame elements of the seat at a position adjacent the front half of said seat, so that the roundbeaded, front, seat edge appears to be cantilevered but is actually supported by the partially hidden braces.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES OF THE INVENTION In this application and accompanying drawings there is shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, together with various alternatives and modifications thereof, but it is to be understood that these are not intended to be exhaustive and that other changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the invention. These suggestions herein are selected and included for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art will more fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and will be able to modify it and embody it in a variety of forms, each as may be best suited in the condition of a particular case.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view in perspective of a chair of the invention unfolded for use.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the chair of FIG. 1 in its folded position and slightly enlarged in scale with parts broken away.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the seat portion of the chair of FIG. 1 showing the preferred seat support and bracing means.

FIG. 4 is a similar view of the preferred hinge means useful in the construction of the chair of the invention; and

FIG; 5 is a fragmentary front view of the grooved horizontal cross brace and the pair of seat support braces of the invention shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, it is seen that chair 10 comprises arcuate rocker members 12; rear legs 14; front legs 16 pivotally fastened to said rocker members 12 proximate the bottom end of said legs by pins 21 and 23 respectively; a back member 18 to which the upper portions of legs 14 and 16 are pivotally connected by pins 25 and 27, respectively, near the upper end of said legs; and a seat 20. Seat 20 comprises a plurality of slats 24 held in seat side frame elements 26. Back support member 18 comprises a plurality of vertical dowels 28 which are held in horizontal frame members 30, which are, in turn, held in vertical back frame elements 32. port member 18 comprises a pluralty of vertical dowels 28 which are held in horizontal frame members 30, which are, in turn, held in vertical back frame elements 32.

When chair 10 is in an erected position, the upper butt ends 33 of rear legs 14 form a bearing surface against which front legs 16 bear and are partially supported.

Arcuate rocker members 12 are joined by two cross brace members, forward brace 34 and rearward brace 36,

3 each of said brace members being positioned between the pins 21 and 23 by which the pivotal connection of legs 14 and 16 to rocker members 12 is achieved.

Another horizontal cross brace 38 is fastened between rear legs 14. Two additional horizontal bnaces, a lower front brace 40 and an upper front brace or rung 42, are fastened between front legs 16. Cross brace 38 and upper front brace 42 are positioned so that they are about centered over the rearmost edge of bnaces 36 and 34 respectively when the rocking chair is rocked to its extreme forward position. Lower front brace 40 is so positioned that it is about centered over the forward edge of brace 34 when rocking chair 10 is rocked to its extreme rearward position.

A particular improvement of this invention which overcomes the tendency of the seat, in a chair of the type of US. 3,083,051, to break due to the extreme cantilever required for folding, is the seat support and brace means 43. Means 43 comprises a pair of angled braces, such as 44, preferably of metal, each having a lower portion 45 terminating in an annular end 46 which is pivotally received on the reduced diameter ends 47 of horizontal cross rung 42, and prevented from slipping laterally thereon by the shoulders 48. Each brace 44 includes an integral upper portion 49, angled at 50 from portion 45 to accommodate the round beaded edge 51 when folded, and having an upper terminal end pivoted at 52 to seat 20, well forward thereof. The portion 49 is slidably received in a slot 53 in the underside of the side frame elements 26 of the seat 20 and the upper edge 54 thereof is preferably a bearing surface contacting the roof 55 of the slot to offer firm support thereto. It is to be noted that the position of bearing surface 54 is well forward under frame elements 26, i.e. positioned in such a Way that the centre of gravity of a person sitting on the chair would be behind the support provided by brace 44.

Seat 20 is pivotally attached to back support 22 by means of angled L-shaped metal hinge strips 56 seen in FIG. 4. The shorter section 58 of hinge strip 56 is fixed in slots 59 out into the lower end of vertical frame elements 32 of back 18 and immovably secured therein by a pin 60 through aperture 62 in leg 58 and by the pivot pin 25 of the back 18 and rear legs 14.. The longer section 64 of hinge strip 56 is pivotally received in a slot 65 in the elements 26 of seat 20 to support the same on pivot pins 66 for folding and for rigid metal support when the chair is erected.

Various other advantages and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. In a folding rocking chair of the type having a back and a seat pivotally connected together with the back foldable over the seat, a pair of rockers, a pair of front legs pivotally connecting the front of said rockers to said back, intermediate of the height of said back, said front legs having a rung therebetween, a pair of rear legs pivotally connecting the rear of said rockers to the bottom of said back and having butt ends supporting said front legs in a common plane, the improvement comprising:

side frame elements in said seat having elongated slots in the underface thereof, said slots each having a roof, or ceiling, therein;

a pair of annular grooves, each at an opposite end of said rung;

a pair of metal seat support braces each having a main lower portion with an enlarged annular lower end pivotally supported in one of said annular grooves in said rung, each having an upper portion offset at an angle from said main lower portion and each having an upper end pivotally received in, and hidden in one of said slots, each said upper end having a top edge bearing surface adapted to engage the roof, or ceiling, of its slot;

a round, beaded front edge on said seat, said braces being angled to fit therearound to achieve a compact fold;

vertical frame elements on each opposite side of said back, each having elongated slots therein and a pair of L shaped metal strap hinges, forming the pivotal connection between said back and seat, each having a shorter section fixed in one of said slots and a longer section pivotally supporting the rear edge of said seat;

said angled metal braces and said L shaped metal hinges being unobtrusive and maintaining the cantilevered seat, portable effect of said folding rocking chair.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 195,547 9/ 1877 Wakefield 297-32 488,115 12/ 1 892 Cornell 297-32 700,266 5/1902 Wagner 29*7-48 1,540,337 6/ 1925 [Innis 297-49 215,581 5/1879 Dann 297-46 607,275 7/1898 Rainbow 297-332 773,308 10/ 1904 Weidenbaum 297-56 890,192 6/ 1908 Stombaugh 297-32 1,509,863 9/ 1924 Erickson 297-334 X 3,042,447 7/ 1962 Wilkinson 29-7-5 8 3,083,051 3/ 1963 'Milbourne 297-32 X FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

